Flames of Betrayal
by Veroneeka Magdalene
Summary: She was his friend, his family, his partner. He was her safe harbour, her lighthouse that always brought her back home. He wouldn't allow anything to happen to her, always rescuing her. Everything seemed so simple. So why? Why dit it have to happen? They could be so happy together! Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail**  
**Rating: T**

_Flames of Betrayal- Chapter 1_

* * *

The sun was setting. A small woman brushed her blonde hair. She will do it tomorrow, she most certainly will. Her eyes looked at her image in the mirror, a soft sigh escaped her mouth. How could she fall so hard? She promised herself never to fall in love with anyone from her guild, especially not him. Anyone but him. And here she was, madly in love, with a guy that had no idea of love. Well, not the kind of love she loved him with. She was his friend, his family, his partner. He was her safe harbour, her lighthouse that always brought her back home. He wouldn't allow anything to happen to her, always rescuing her. Tomorrow, she will tell him. And he will finally know. Her heart, that beats only for him, her eyes that look only at him, her smile, that shines only at him. He will know. A small light appeared in her eyes, setting them on fire. But it was just a small one. Tomorrow, she will burn. She will burn like a torch, like fire itself, offering herself to his flames. A window opened. A heartbeat fastened. He was there, in her apartment. Probably making himself comfortable in her bed, just like every other time. Should she...? No. Tomorrow. Tomorrow will be the day. She squeezed the brush. He knew she was in the bathroom, sniffing her out the very second he jumped into her window. That was good. She was safe, so he could sleep. After a while, quiet snores echoed through the house. Lucy opened the door and stepped into dark room. She tiptoed to the bed, covered the young man, sleeping in it like a baby, and softly kissed him on the forehead. "Goodnight, my dragon boy." Then she carefully stepped to the drawer, took out a pillow and a blanket and laid herself on the icy floor.

* * *

The morning found her asleep, dreaming her sweet dreams. " Natsuuu..." Everything seemed nice and simple. It was truly a lovely morning, promising a beautiful day. When Lucy opened her eyes, she thought that even weather wished her good luck. She looked at the bed, expecting Natsu to still sleep. But the bed was empty. When she later returned to that moment, she wanted to slap herself for not noticing. Her perfect world had a scratch. But in the warm and happiness of her heart, she refused to see it. Natsu never got up before her. Not even once during the whole time she has known him. He loved to sleep in and stay for breakfast. But that morning, he was nowhere in her apartment. It should have rung a bell. But she just shrugged her shoulders and waved it off as something unimportant. Her nervosity of the confessing made her forget.

* * *

When she opened the guild door, she was prepared to see a lot of things. Fairy Tail wasn't called one of the wildest places in Fiore for no reason, after all. What she didn't expect, though, was the sight before her. The whole guild was silent. Everyone was looking at the bar. Confused Lucy looked there as well. The second she saw it, oh, how she wished to be blind, so she wouldn't be able to see what she saw. Natsu, her Natsu, was standing at the bar, his drink in front of him, one of the grins she loved so much crossing his face. And beside him stood her. The woman that destroyed everything. With white hair blazing in the light and contageous smile on her face. And Natsu's hand around her waist. And his eyes gazing directly into her eyes. And his lips very, very close to hers.

* * *

The sun was setting. Lucy faintly remembered, that yesterday she was watching the same sunset from her bathroom. But the hope, yesterday so real, was now just a memory, dissapearing with the sun. She tried to hate her, the woman that stole Natsu away and destroyed her whole universe. But it was good for nothing. She couldn't feel anything. Every beat of her heart stabbed her like a dagger, reminding her the bitter truth she wished to forget. She couldn't even cry. Why? Why dit it have to happen? They could be so happy together! She wandered through the dark streets, getting further and further away from the guild. His words replayed in her head. "Why are you so quiet, Lucy? Are you sad? You know what? Lets go on a job together! " Lucy always considered the phrase "broken heart" to be just a bunch of too big words. But in the moment she saw Natsu and Lisanna together, she realized how wrong she was. Her heart didn't break. It was shattered into milions of little shards, slowly dissolving into oblivion, leaving pure nothingness to take its place. And the one who shattered it was no one else than Natsu, the person she always seeked safety, courage and confidence from. Just mere thought of him caused her stomach to roll. She stopped to vomit, leaning to a tree. Once she stopped trying to trow her guts up, she felt a pair of cold arms snake around her waist.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail  
Rating: T**

* * *

"Lucy! Lucy, where are...Huh? Is it you, Lucy? Thank god I found you, everyone was getting worried. Are you all right?" Brown eyes widened.

"You look awful, girl. What happened?" A male voice. Lucy realized, that she should fight, scream...  
"Come, I will walk you back to the guild." But her body remained calm.

Whoever it was, her mind refused to acnowledge him, letting his words turn into soft buzzing. After all the pain she went through, her brain just shut down. Her vision started to get misty. One cold hand on her back, other one at her waist. She didn't know whose. She didn't care. Why should she? Natsu wasn't there, and that was all that mattered. Her dragon boy left her. Nobody was going to save her. Natsu wasn't there. So why should she fight this man? The tears finally came.  
"...Na...tsu..."

What did she do wrong? Why had he chosen Lisanna over her? Was she worse than Lisanna? Wasn't she good enough for him? Her tormented soul gratefully invited the sweet darkness, sinking into its awaiting depths.

"I found her! She was near the forest. Well, yes, she seems fine, but she passed out. Can you call Wendy just to be sure? Thanks, Warren. Jeez, look what you have done, you stupid Flame Brain! She is completely broken. Poor thing. And who will have to clean this mess? Me! What does he have in that head of his? Charcoal?! Well, one thing is sure. If Lucy hurt herself because of that idiot, I will make an ice block out of it! Maybe that will bring some brain in there."

"I wonder if Lucy is all right..."  
"Yes, I heard she didn't respond to Gray when he found her...She probably didn't even realize it was him."  
"Lu-chan was unconscious when they brought her here, but I heard Wendy telling Master that it was just from exhaustion...I hope she is fine..." Whispers echoed through the building.

Everyone was curious about what happened to their beloved nakama, hoping that her smile will return to the guild very soon. But Lucy was still sleeping. Until she woke up, they had no answers. No ideas of what could have happened. No chance of knowing if someone hurt her...or if she hurt herself. Either way, there had to be someone responsible. Someone to blame. And once they found him...

"Umm...Ouch." The second Lucy opened her eyes, sharp pain shot into her head. The sun, coming through big window blinded her, so she wasn't able to recognize the bed she slept in.  
"Whu? Och, Luce. You finally woke up, I was so worried about you. Are you ok?" The voice, so familiar and yet so painful, made her close her eyes again.

What was he doing here? He made his choice, and his choice was Lisanna. So why wasn't he with her? What made him stay next to her bed, instead of being at his girlfriend's side? Does he want to torture her? Does he want to laugh at the stupidity of her obviously unrequited affections? She turned her face away from him, her eyes still tightly closed.  
"Hey, Luce. Why..."  
"Oi! Flame Brain! What are you doing up here?! Lucy obviously doesn't want to talk with you. Leave her alone!" Gray appeared in the room and grabbed Natsu by his scarf. Failing to throw him out he came closer and quietly hissed into his ear.  
"When I found her, she was completely disorientated, not even able to recognize me. It's a miracle she didn't hurt herself. I hope I don't have to remind you, whose fault it was?!" Natsu gasped.

Gray wasn't suggesting that he was the one who should be blamed for Lucy's condition, right? He has done nothing wrong! Absolutely nothing! He opened his mouth to voice his opinion, but Gray has already got him away from Lucy and shut the door.

"She woke up!" Heads shot into the air.  
"How is she, Natsu? Is she alright?"  
"Aye, she seemed pretty fine to me...but she didn't want to speak to me. Maybe she's still a little bit confused?" Makarov's eyes narrowed.

Lucy refusing to talk with Natsu? That was strange. Very, very strange. A little threads of suspicion started to appear in his head. What if the one making Lucy so depressed was actually Natsu? That would explain her state and this rejection. But how...? The two were almost inseparable, the easiest way to find one of them was to look for the other one. No big fighting was going on between them, quite the opposite. He alway thought that Lucy and Natsu will eventually end up together, with a big wedding and a bunch of little wee babies running through the guild. If his suspicions were true... Lucy was found completely broken. If Natsu was the one who broke her, he will feel the rage of the guild.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail  
Rating: T**

"So, Lucy," Makarov's voice pierced through Lucy's shield. "How do you feel?" Feel. She forgot the meaning of that word. All feelings come from the heart, and Lucy's heart had disappeared last night. She didn't feel. Not anymore. And probably never would again.

"You look better now." No answer was given, and none was expected.

"Look, Lucy. I know that you are not alright, that you are probably in pain. But whatever it is that bothers you, we are here for you. We always were, and we always will be." She faced away. Always there for her, huh? What a bunch of lies. Nobody was there yesterday. Nobody seemed to care.

"I will understand if you won't answer, Lucy. But...will you tell me what happened yesterday?" Eyes narrowed. What does he want to hear? What is he talking about, anyways?

"You know, once we realized that you left the guild, Natsu insisted on going to check on you. And when he came back, screaming that he couldn't find you, we were really worried. He was really worried. He was the first one out there, searching for you. And when we found you, you should have seen his face. His eyes were so relieved...And yet you refused to speak to him when you woke up. It makes me wonder why."

Lucy squeezed her eyes shut. "Do you have anything you want to tell me, child?" She shook her head.

"No? Are you sure?" Damn it! Cursed Gramps with his cursed eyes! He noticed. And now he knew something wasn't right. Oh, damn it all! She shook her head again.

"Okay. I will leave you, then. But I will come again, okay?" Brown eyes opened again, watching the small figure moving to the door. "Until next time, Lucy."

Makarov's smile vanished the moment he closed the door of Lucy's room. Just as he suspected, Natsu had something to do with the state Lucy was in. Now he had to find out what exactly the guy did, if he did anything. Women were very sensitive, especially Lucy. It was possible that she had broken because she had seen something, heard something...Who knows?

He stepped away, facing the guild. Almost hundred pairs of eyes looked at him, small trace of hope in them.

"How is she? - Is Lu-chan alright? - Can we see her, Master?" they all spoke at once. Master raised his hand, trying to quiet them.

"Lucy is alright. She is just tired and needs to rest. She will be with us very soon." Cheers roared in the guild hall. Makarov smiled and headed to the table occupied by Team Natsu.

"Natsu, I need to talk with you. Let's go to my office."

Gray snarled in response, and Master turned to him. "You have something to tell me, Gray?"

The Ice-Mage just grinned under his breath.


End file.
